13 Working together to end immigration detention: a collection of noteworthy practices Ending detention of children in the immigration context Research has shown the serious impact of detention child immigration detention was reached among on children’s health, psycho-social development and international human rights bodies. In 2014 the well-being.38 Detaining children for reasons related Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to their or their parents’ migration status conflicts (PACE) recalled 42 that unaccompanied children with the best interests of the child. Immigration should never be detained, and that the detention of detention is never in the child’s best interests and children based on their or their parent’s immigration should always be forbidden.39 status is contrary to the best interests of the child. In order to raise further awareness and encourage The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has states in Europe to adopt alternatives to detention deemed child immigration detention to be in violation that are in line with the best interests of the child and of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and allow children to remain with their family members in a growing number of international bodies have called community-based settings, in 2015 PACE launched on states to put an end to the immigration detention a campaign to end the immigration detention of of children. children.43 This outcome was made possible thanks to the In the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular active campaigning of several organisations Migration, 44 as well as in the Global Compact who joined together in the ‘Global Campaign on Refugees, 45 states committed to developing to End Child Detention at the United Nations “non-custodial and community-based alternatives 40 Human Rights Council’ launched by International to detention”, in particular for children, with the Detention Coalition (IDC)41 in 2012. In the following ultimate aim of ending child detention in the context years, a general consensus over the abolition of of migration. 38 S. Mares, 2021, Mental health consequences of detaining children and families who seek asylum: a scoping review, “European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry”, 30; Save the Children Action Network, 2018, 5 Harmful Long-term Effects of Family Detention on Children [accessed on 23 October 2023]; A. Farmer (2013), The impact of immigration detention on children, “Forced Migration Review”; International Detention Coalition – IDC (2012), Captured childhood; PICUM, 2019, Child detention in Europe; and PICUM, 2021, Immigration detention in Europe: what safeguards for people with vulnerabilities?. 39 PICUM, 2022, Immigration detention and de facto detention: what does the law say?, Q.6. 40 See Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and Committee on the Rights o f t h e C h i l d , 2 0 1 7 , J o i n t G e n e ra l Co m m e n t N o. 3 o f t h e C M W a n d N o. 2 2 o f t h e C RC i n t h e c o n t ex t o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l M i g ra t i o n : G e n e r a l p r i n c i p l e s . S e e a l s o U N H C R , 2 0 1 7 , U N H C R ’s p o s i t i o n r e g a r d i n g t h e d e t e n t i o n o f r e f u g e e a n d m i g r a n t c h i l d r e n i n t h e migration context; OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), 2022, Immigration detention is never in the best interest of children and must end, OSCE human rights head says [accessed on 23 October 2023]. 41 International Detention Coalition (IDC) is a global network of organisations, groups, individuals, and representatives of communities impacted by immigration detention, based in over 75 countries. Its mission is to put an end to immigration detention, by implementing rights-based alternative to detention. 42 Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), 2014, The alternatives to the immigration detention of children (Recommendation 2056 (2014). 43 For more information see PACE, The Parliamentary Campaign to End Immigration Detention of Children [accessed on 23 October 2023]. 44 United Nations, 2019, Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (A/RES/73/195). 45 United Nations, 2018, Global Compact on Refugees.